In Her Memory
by inveritas
Summary: It's time for Gibbs to remember what he lost. Jibbs. Oneshot.


Title: In Her Memory  
Rating: T  
Genre: Angst/Friendship/Hurt/Comfort  
Characters: Jenny Shepard, Jethro Gibbs. Mentions of Shannon Gibbs, Kelly Gibbs and Gibbs' team.  
Disclaimer: I don't own them.  
Spoilers: Eh..any episode where Kelly and Shannon are mentioned.  
Warnings: Tissue warning, pretty sad stuff. A whole lotta angst.  
Prompt: Water  
Pairing: Gibbs/Jenny  
Author's Notes: This is the first story for The Weekly Writing Game on NFA set by Cassy.

**In Her Memory**

He was miserable, there were reminders of her everywhere. Even though many years had passed since she'd left him, it didn't make it any easier. Kelly had been his life, as had Shannon. The day he found out of their deaths was quite possibly the worst day of his life. Now, each and every year these memories, these feelings would come back, for today, was or would have been Kelly's birthday.

A day which really should be celebrated, but it was hard when he knew she wasn't here anymore. People always say, "You have to hold onto the good memories" when a person passes, but it's just not that simple. The image of their last moments is imprinted in your brain, it's not something that you can get rid of easily.

Everyone at NCIS noticed his mood, more so than usual, on this day each year, Gibbs was a hard person to read, but even he couldn't hide this much grief. McGee pretended not to notice his boss' mood and just hoped it would pass before he took it out on himself or Tony or Ziva. Ziva had tried her best to provide some comfort, Gibbs and herself had shared some special moments in a few times of greif so she wasn't afraid to let him know she cared. Tony, was also concerned, but he was taking a back seat approach on this one as he knew, even if Gibbs didn't do it intentionally, he would take his anger out on Tony. Ducky new how Gibbs was at this time, he'd been around him every year since Shannon and Kelly had passed. He knew. Abby was overcompensating, just looking at him made her cry, she really felt sorry for Gibbs and wanted to let him know she really cared and wanted to be there for him. Whenever he walked into the same room as her she'd run up immediately and hug him like her life depended on it, and would burst into tears in the process.

Then there was Jenny. Jenny, one of the few people who knew Gibbs like an open book. She could see his distress and pain, and wanted to be there for him. It was a tough thing for her to see him like this. Jenny was very practical minded, she knew, however un-feeling it may sound, that Gibbs' mood would affect the performance of his team and therefore their ability to do their jobs. But, she also saw this from an emotional point-of-view, she knew she had to let him come to her and not the other way around, Gibbs was not one for being treated like a baby. She couldn't just go up to him and poor her heart out telling him how sorry she felt for him, that just wasn't the type of person Gibbs or herself was.

Each year Gibbs would go to the beach and sit, looking at the ocean, at the peaceful serenity of the water. Hoping to find comfort. Each year he would go alone, this year, however, Jenny was in his life and knew about Shannon and Kelly, she decided to join him. She knew he would probably fight her and tell her that, "this is none of your buisness" but she wanted to comfort him, it felt right and somewhere in her heart, she knew he would agree. He'd been alone for a long time and having to cope with the death of a loved one alone is probably the worst thing that a person can go through.

-----

That afternoon, as if by clockwork, Gibbs left NCIS and headed towards the beach. He always picked a secluded spot, a spot where he, Shannon and Kelly would often come. Now, he came here to remember.

He arrived at the beach and walked, flowers in hand, down to the water's edge. Gibbs wasn't usually one for flowers but for his family he made an exception. Each and every year.

He sat down on some driftwood and starred out into the ocean, to the horizon. He could only think about his family, he remembered the times they would come here and go horseback riding or when he and Shannon would bring Kelly here to go swimming, she loved swimming. As he thought about them tears built up in his eyes, instead of wiping them from his face, he let them fall. It was better to let your emotions out rather than bottle them up, this time anyway.

Jenny had followed Gibbs to the beach, and had she also decided to bring flowers, out of respect for the people her ex-partner and friend loved the most.

When the time was right, Jenny walked over to where Gibbs was sitting, "Jethro? Mind if I join you?"

Gibbs turned around, surprised, "Jen? What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to remember."

"But, why?"

"I care about you Jethro, and you care about them. Besides I won't let you go through this alone." She answered, sitting beside Gibbs.

"I've mananged pretty well in the past, Jen, why is now different?"

"Because I'm here now."

"Thankyou Jen."

"You're welcome, you have to take care of the people you love, you never know when they'll be gone."

"I know, believe me."

"I know you do." She said, then asked, "Where do you usually put the flowers?"

"I usually scatter them in the water. Kelly loved the water, Shannon and I would bring her down here and we'd practically have to drag her out of the water when it was time to go home." His eyes lit up when he spoke of his family, when he finished his sentence his eyes became sad again, from the realisation that they were no longer here.

"Come on, let's do it together." Jenny stood up and took Gibbs' hand. They both walked down to the water's edge and placed the flowers on the water.

"I love you guys, and I miss you." Gibbs said, looking at the horizon.

"Just remember, Jethro, they'll always be in your heart."

"Jen?"

"Yes?"

"Thankyou for coming here today. I really appreciate it."

"My pleasure, Jethro."

_**The End. **_

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